My Frugal Miser - October 2022 Expenses

   My spending in September was a bit lower than in August.

• Gas for the car was fairly low, and I renewed our AAA membership.
• Household expenses are artificially high.  For the last several years I have purchased $1,500 in Amazon gift cards when my credit card offers 5% cash back.  The spending will be spread out over many months.  I also installed new window blinds throughout the house.  
• We worked two meeting jobs in Orlando where we were not reimbursed our travel expenses.  Most of my meeting jobs include full reimbursement, but my very first client is a staffing company that usually hires "locals".  Rather than drive back and forth from Tampa, my partner and I usually splurge on a local hotel.

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• Royal Caribbean offered me a free cruise, but I did pay taxes, fees and I prepaid gratuities.  Total for two for the cruise:  $362.
• We also had some expenses related to our Transatlantic cruise, including rideshare costs and and $80 fee to the Bermuda government related to COVID.

October Expenses:  $5,228

$305 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$235 Clothing/ Personal Care
$628 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$789 Food

$13 Health and Dental

$3,223 Household/Home Repairs

$150 Unreimbursed Job Expense

($1,049) Reimbursed Job Expense income this month

$0 Interest Expense

$164 Miscellaneous (cat sitter)

$640 Taxes

$129 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - October 2022 Income

Greetings from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!  We're on our transatlantic cruise from Portugal to Tampa.  I'm too cheap to purchase Internet for the whole cruise but decided to splurge for a 24 hour pass to get caught up.

My October income represents the new normal as I now only have two rental properties.  I worked two meeting jobs plus I was paid for some work I did in September.  I also completed four Amazon routes.

Rental income was as expected.  I received rent for my two houses, plus two Realty Mogul dividends.  Expenses were high because I paid property taxes on one of my properties.

October Income: $8,022

$0 Mystery Shopping/ Merchandising
$4,694 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$313 Amazon Deliveries

$2,938 Rental Income (Rental Expenses:  $1,930)
$76 Interest Income

$0 Other Sources

In November I will be paid for one meeting completed in October.  I am working two meetings in November, but one is at the end of November and will be paid out in December.  It's going to be a light income month.

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  $23,893

Many of my current investments are put options against zombie companies.  This was a profitable strategy in October.

My Frugal Miser - September 2022 Expenses

  My spending in September was a bit lower than in August.

• As I was barely home, gas for the car was under $100.
• One of the cats had a UTI so I took her to the vet.  I also used a cat sitter several times while we were working out of town.
• I paid for a crown for one of my teeth.
• We worked two meeting jobs in Orlando where we were not reimbursed our travel expenses.  

Fun

We love adventures.  Spending on experiences makes us better humans.  

• Carnival Cruises offered a deal on upgrading our cabin for the transatlantic cruise we are taking at the end of the month.  A few months ago I called to inquire, and was quoted nearly $2,000 to upgrade from an interior room to a balcony.  This time it was offered for $450.  For a 13 night cruise, that's an extra $35/night to go from a no-window interior room to one with a balcony we can sit on to enjoy our morning coffee.  Deal.

September Expenses:  $4,550

$88 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees (annual fees on credit cards)
$0 Clothing/ Personal Care
$511 Fun (vacations, movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$762 Food

$568 Health and Dental

$1,081 Household/Home Repairs

$609 Unreimbursed Job Expense

$189 Reimbursed Job Expense

$0 Interest Expense

$409 Miscellaneous (vet bill, cat sitter)

$203 Taxes

$129 Utilities 

My Frugal Miser - September 2022 Income

My income was soft in September, as expected.  I no longer have Airbnb income and I sold my largest rental property.  Meetings are also slower in September, though I did receive a 50% fee for a meeting I was supposed to work this week in Denver.  I took two lower-paying meeting jobs to stay busy.  In total, I worked 4 different events.  I will be paid for two of those in October.  I only completed one Amazon route.

Rental income was as expected.  I received rent for my two houses, plus a small amount recovered from the tenant's deposit for the house I just sold.

September Income: $7,027

$0 Mystery Shopping/ Merchandising
$5,066 Meeting Jobs
$0 Gig Apps (Rideshare, Food Deliveries, etc.)
$84 Amazon Deliveries

$1,795 Rental Income (Rental Expenses:  $218)
$83 Interest Income

$0 Other Sources

October should be a decent month.  I'm working two meeting jobs and will be paid for two jobs I completed in September.  Near the end of the month we make our way to Europe for the cruise.  Since most of that vacation has been prepaid I don't expect to spend a lot in October.

Investment Accounts Change in Value:  ($45,660)

Stock markets were way down in September.  Although I did a bit better than the market indexes, I was way down for the month.